


Lovin' You Is Free

by Virus_Tripped



Category: Gravity Falls, Pocket Mortys, Rick and Morty
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Aged-Up Character(s), Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Daddy Kink, Drug Dealing, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Incest, M/M, Miami AU, Miami Morty (Pocket Mortys) - Freeform, Miami Rick (Pocket Mortys) - Freeform, Morty has some weird obsession with the beach, Morty is 17, Recreational Drug Use, Rick has no morals, Rick is 47, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-07 20:55:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8815966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virus_Tripped/pseuds/Virus_Tripped
Summary: Dear Summer,
I know you said to just call you, but I've lost my phone. Plus it's just easier for me to get this all out in one go.
So how's the jewellery business going? I got the stuff you sent me, it's beautiful. I'm glad to see you're doing well.
The house is so strange now, as if it's not the one we grew up in. I decided to book a room in a motel for tonight because I can't bare being here alone. 
Tomorrow I'm off to stay with Rick (our grandpa on mums side) and I'm mildly shitting myself. Did you ever meet him? Or did he leave before she had you?
I just hope he's nice..
 
    Love,
    Morty x





	1. A Morty Finds His Rick

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been sitting around going nowhere for a long time, so I figured it was high time I uploaded my humble offering for this sinful fandom. Miami Rick and Miami Morty are just too delicious to resist writing about, so I hope this does them some justice.

Warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass doors of the airport. The air outside was thick and hot. It had started to rain. A group of young locals lounged outside the doors with their luggage, sharing a cigarette. Shuttle buses picked up large hoards of tourists; it was a busy time of year for tourism. Screaming children, cameras clicking, laughter and crying, the airport echoed with the sounds of life. 

An empty take-away coffee cup rattled its way into a bin. Morty sighed audibly, the coffee had been terrible. He stooped down to tie his shoe laces, the knot kept falling loose and tripping him. As he stood, he jostled a passer-by, who glared rudely as they flounced off, not even giving Morty so much time as to say sorry. He just shrugged it off. His confidence in these sorts of situations had come a long way in the past few years. It had had to.

The clack-click, clack-click of Morty's suitcase as it rolled along behind him, lulled him into a mindless state. He hadn't brought much with him, just some basics and essentials, like clothes, his laptop, chargers, certain documents like his passport, and some cash. Everything else he and summer had owned had been sold and the money split between them. Beth had no need for it. He continued to mull over everything he had brought with him, and double check in his head what exactly he had needed. He then began to mull over his now long gone possessions. Things he had owned since before he was even born; all gone. Something broke his train of thought and he looked up from the ground. He had made it to the drop-off zone. He scanned the area and found a vacant bench with a clear view of the cars driving past and pulling over. As Morty's backside made contact with the bench, a droplet of water splashed onto his cheek. "F-Fuck!", Morty shot up and groaned, how had he not realised it was _raining_? Another frustrated groan made its way through parted lips. "Oh w-well, I'm al-already s-soaked enough a-as it i-is". Morty continued to mumble to himself as he slowly sat back down onto the wet bench. As frustrated as he was by his lack of shelter, he knew he had a good position to look out for Rick. Cars came and went, people were picked up and dropped off, and Morty watched as slowly fewer and fewer people were getting picked up, and fewer and fewer people were getting dropped off.

It had gotten dark. The temperature had started to drop, but not enough for it to be noticeable; unless you'd been standing still in the open air for as long as Morty had been. A shiver ran down his spine. The airport was different at night. The darkness had enveloped it, curling around every surface, licking the edges of where light cast pathways through the gloom. The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight, his whole body preparing to flee if need be. A sound caught his attention. Footsteps. He turned to find the noise. A large silhouette of a person stepped into a beam of light, and suddenly everything seemed a little brighter to Morty. "Rick?". Morty didn't notice the look on the security guards face as he uttered that name. Morty shook his head to himself, there's no way that this guy could be Rick, he didn't work here. Morty then wondered where Rick did work, did he even work? If so, Morty wondered what he did. The security guard walked over to the anxious looking teen. "What's the story kid? You making trouble here?", the security guard chuckled a little to himself, the kid looked too antsy to be causing any sort of trouble here. "Yo, kid?", Morty snapped out of his own thoughts and looked back up at the security guard. He frowned and sat down next to the lost looking kid. "My name's Stan, is this Rick guy s'posed to be picking you up?", he moved a hand slowly down to his phone and waited for the antsy teen to reply. Morty softened at the edges, let the calming aura of this Stan guy lull him to a contented state. Stan had a comfortable look about him. He was a stocky build, had a big nose and a warm smile. Morty sighed, "H-hey Stan, m-my name's M-Morty. Rick w-w-was g-gonna pick me up but I-I guess not... maybe h-he forgot." Stan held a concerned look, anger bubbling underneath. Stan pulled his phone out of his pocket, "do you have a way to conta-" Stan the security man was cut off by a loud engine and a scrapping noise as a powder blue Cadillac hit the curb. Instantly Morty stood, because somehow he knew, this was his Rick. 

"T-thanks Stan!" Morty ran off awkwardly, pulling his suitcase behind him. Stan just chuckled and stood, waving as the kid threw his tuff in the car before he turned and went to clock off for the night. 

* * *

 

Morty didn't get a chance to admire the beautiful car because Rick was yelling out of the window for him to "hurry the fuck up! You can gawk later!" He threw open the passenger side door and threw himself, with his luggage, inside the car. As Rick sped off, he sunk sleepily into the seat. It was so comfortable. The interior was a slightly darker blue than the exterior of the car, and the leather upholstery was soft against his back. The dash was a creme colour, or maybe beige, it was too dark for Morty to see clearly. He struggled to stifle a yawn and Rick glanced over at him. He'd had no clue just how tiring his day was going be. He lolled his head lazily, still resting on the headrest behind him, to look at Rick. They hadn't spoken and Morty suddenly felt very aware of himself. All that confidence he'd built up; gone. His mind raced as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. "H-hi Rick, n-nice to err.. to m-meet you..", he trailed off and berated himself for being so insufferably awkward. Rick made no attempt to look over at him and just hummed in agreement, his gaze locked onto the road ahead. Morty suddenly found himself wishing for that gaze to be burning holes into him, instead of the road. He shivered in disgust at his own thoughts. Rick wound down the windows and turned the volume of the radio up. Morty sensed that conversation was not going to happen so he turned his attention to Rick. He took in his features, he had a strong jaw line, a strong jaw- hell, all his features were strong! His eyes, Morty decided, were something else entirely. There was something about them; they made Morty feel all kinds of things he didn't quite know if he wanted to feel. His hair, a blueish-grey, was swept wildly around by the wind, and Morty couldn't keep his eyes to himself. This man was everything Morty had never known he'd wanted. And god did he want Rick. Morty could only imagine what he looked like under all those clothes. Lean, yet strong, he could tell that much straight away. Probably hairy, but not a lot of it. Morty paused in his admiration as he noticed the view behind his grandpa. He didn't know how long they'd been driving, but suddenly he was acutely aware of where they were. Miami. He stared in disbelief as beam after beam of brightly coloured light hit the car, strobing across Rick's face, making him look.. cool? Morty couldn't find a word to describe it exactly, but it did things to him. He shook his head and looked again, past Rick, to the whole new world behind him. Shops were still open, people were still out, Miami Beach just looked so alive. Palm trees wafted their fronds listlessly in a warm breeze. For the first time in a very long time, Morty felt happy, genuinely happy with life and where it had taken him. Miami Beach, his new home? He could get used to this.


	2. Rick is Never Humble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty goes exploring

Morty woke late the next morning. Soft light filtered through an open window to his left, and a warm breeze wafted through his hair. He looked around, his morning vision making everything appear hazy. The room was mostly bare, and the walls were an off white, but it felt cozy to Morty. As he continued to take in his surroundings he spied his suitcase at the foot of the mattress. His shoes were laid out on top of it. Morty faltered, when had he taken those off? Actually, when had he gotten into bed? Panic shot through him like a dart. His head span as he struggled to make sense of where he was. This wasn't his house! Where was Summer? Where was mum? Where was- Morty stopped himself. Summer wasn't here, none of them were. He was alone, with a strange man, in a place he'd never been before. Morty could feel the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He didn't want to cry, not again. Small hands rubbed angrily at soft skin and he regained his composure. He looked down at his hands. They were wet with tears he hadn't wanted, hadn't needed, to spill. A shaky sigh managed to force itself through his lips. He stood slowly and walked carefully over to his suitcase. He didn't know why, but he felt like if he moved any faster he'd fall. Shoving his shoes to the side, he unzipped his case and started rooting though it, trying to find something clean to change into. A warn out yellow top and denim shorts. Morty wasn't a fan of showing off his legs but he could tell it was going to be hot outside so he'd just have to put up with it. As he stooped over to pull on his shoes, he saw a door to his right. Excitement filled him and he bounded over to it, all the sadness leaving him as he opened the door.

  
"Wow..." Morty fell silent as he stepped into the en-suit. He'd never seen one in real life before, only in tv shows and magazines. It looked new, and it was bigger than Morty would have expected. The walls were tiled with sandy coloured marble, as was the floor, and the shower was tiled with similar coloured stone. It had a bench coming out the wall on one side, with an alcove just above that. the shower itself was a rusty bronze colour and Morty couldn't wait to get in it. There was a bathtub against the wall next to shower. It was free standing and a towel rack hung on the wall just above it. Morty wondered if the rest of the house was this beautiful. He decided to go find out.  
He left the room and closed the door, before deciding to leave it open so he wouldn't forget which one it was. There were five other doors on either side of him in the hallway he now found himself in. All were identical. All were closed. Morty had always been a curious kid, so he ended up deciding to be the snoopy brat he really was, and made his way to the closest room. He opened the door, and he saw a bedroom, almost identical to the one he had woken up in. It looked lived-in, there was the odd shirt or sock splayed about the floor, and the bed was unmade. As Morty continued to look around the room, he realised this must be Rick's room. His blood ran cold as he thought about Rick walking in and finding him snooping around here. He didn't seem like the kind of person to take too kindly to that, so Morty made a quick exit. 

The rest of the rooms were comprised of a third bedroom, a study and a large bathroom. Each room on this floor had a balcony, and Morty raced from room to room, trying to take in all the different views the house had to offer. Morty soon grew familiar with this floor and decided to go downstairs. His stomach growled and he wondered what sort of food Rick would have. A small laugh escaped him as he imagined Rick fine-dining at home, eating caviar and truffles, drinking champagne, smoking cigars and wearing that tight blue shirt that Morty wished he'd just take off- Morty stopped his train of thought before it went places he didn't need to be. He shook his head, as if that would make the sinful thoughts leave his brain. Morty took a deep breath to calm himself and bounded down the stairs. The sound of his footsteps on the stairs echoed in his ears, and through the house. The stairs took Morty to an extravagant kitchen/dining area. It looked... brand new. Morty wondered whether Rick ever even used it. The thought made him deeply uncomfortable, what was the point of having such nice things if you didn't even use them? He shrugged the thoughts away, Rick probably just liked to keep it clean... Yeah, that was all.

At closer inspection, the kitchen was indeed just as spotless as Morty first assumed. Everything shined; an ethereal glow bouncing and reflecting from every surface. The island bench- a cool white marble- in the middle of the area was empty, save for a single large bowl in the centre, holding fruit of various kind. Morty smiled to himself before grabbing an apple. He bit into it and savoured the slight tang as the juice mingled with his saliva. As he walked out of the kitchen, his socked feet slipped slightly on the shinny tiled floor. He laughed quietly before making a mental note to be careful around here as he'd always been a bit of a klutz. The rest of this floor, he noticed, had the same slippery, overtly shiny tiles adorning the floor. When he spotted the tv, he gasped audibly, for it was certainly the biggest screen he'd ever seen in someones home. It was like being at the cinema. The lounge room itself, where the tv resided, was equally large and impressive. Possibly the messiest room in the house, it appeared to be used frequently. The couch had slight imprints in the cushions from people being sat there, and the coffee table in front of it sported the remote, cups and plates and.. some other things. Morty turned away, he decided he didn't need to know whatever that stuff was. If Rick took drugs, then who was he to judge?  Speaking of Rick, he hadn't seen the older man anywhere in the house. Morty felt a knot form in his stomach, was Rick okay? Where would he-. "He's probably at work", Morty hadn't meant to speak out loud, but he flinched as his voice cut through the thick silence. It didn't matter, it wasn't like Rick should stop going about his day-to-day simply because he had a stranger living in his house. In fact, why was Morty feeling so concerned for the guy? He obviously knew how to take care of himself, all one needed to do was look around to see that. 

After brushing aside all Rick-related thoughts, and finishing exploring the house, Morty decided he should go out. He needed to get a better grip on where exactly he was. Running through the halls he grinned as he skidded and bounced into walls. The stairs creaked slightly under his weight as he ran up them to his room. Grabbing his shoes and quickly tying them, he huffed slightly. He was ready to explore Miami! Once he'd gotten to the front door, he gingerly opened it. The air rushed inside and licked against his fingers and then his face as he flung it open all the way. The air outside was thick and hot, just how it had been yesterday. Making sure to check the address of the house, Morty let the door slam behind him. Shit! He grimaced as he thought he heard a lock click. Was he locked out? Morty headed off, down the street. If he had been locked out it's not like he could get back in now so there wasn't any point in freaking out about it. 

As Morty got to the end of the street, he found the street name and tried to commit it to memory. Continuing to walk, he started noticing more and more people walking around, coming and going, driving in cars and riding bikes. The people of Miami Beach were beautiful. They were all tanned, tall and oozed this sort of selfish confidence that Morty would give anything to have. He immediately felt self conscious. He looked so out of place, a mere mortal amount gods. Morty looked down at himself, he'd never really thought much about his appearance or style, or rather his lack of it. Generally choosing comfort over fashion, he'd barely ever given a second thought on what he wore. Seeing all these effortlessly gorgeous people just going about their business made Morty aware of just how much he needed a change in, well, everything. Being here, in Miami, with Rick, was a second chance for him. Morty could be whatever he wanted and no one would question it. This thought seemed to revive him; this was good.

 

* * *

 

Morty found his way to what he assumed was a shopping strip. He quickly busied himself by going from shop to shop and trying on dozens of different outfits. He left each shop exactly the same; empty handed. _Really_ , he thought, _I need someone to tell me what looks good, if only Summer were here._ Morty and Summer had become quite close over the past three years, and he missed her greatly. Feeling slightly defeated, he opted to get something to eat instead. As he dug around in his pockets for his wallet, he realised he'd left it in his backpack. Groaning frustratedly, he kicked at a bottle on the ground. He decided to make his way home as there was nothing else here for him to do now. People walking by chatted to each other and Morty found himself listening in on their conversations as they walked by. "...and so I said to Stacie, get your head..." "...Daren mate, just give me your phone and I'll...". Morty laughed to himself as he imagined what they might have been talking about. As he kicked at the bottle, he didn't realise he'd kicked it too far until he saw a foot kick it back to him. Morty looked up and smiled at the person. The guy smiled back before running off to join his friends who started jeering and giving the guy shit. Morty just shrugged and continued walking. He had no idea how far he'd gone until he caught a whiff of salt in the air.

"Shit! How long have I been walking the wrong way?!" Morty continued to mutter to himself as he desperately wished he hadn't broken his phone, or had at least bought a new one before he'd come here. He let out a big sigh and wondered what to do now. He obviously had no idea where he was so was there even any point going back the way he'd came? He walked a little further, and could now see the beach. It wasn't so crowded, and people were starting to head home, but the sun was yet to set so it was still light enough out.   _So_ , he asked himself, _am I going to try and go home, while it's still light, or am I going to continue this trend of making bad choices and go down to the water?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo what a cliffhanger! I know it was a pretty tame second chapter. I had to re-write most of this chapter, and I'm still not sure I like it at all, but oh well, I may update it later. I'm sure it was a bit dull to read, but I gotta lay the foundations ya know. The next chapter will be better! I'll probably say that after every chapter, so hopefully that statement will be true.
> 
> \-- this chapter has been edited --


	3. Rick To The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty gets lost. Rick happens to be passing by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Blumbus, fellow sinners!!! It is very fucking hot on this festive day and my wifi is down but I am dedicated to this fic!  
> Hope you enjoy this early chapter. It's the longest so far and we see a lot more of Rick's POV, plus Morty's back story. Hope you all have a fantastic day today.

The sand was warm between Morty's toes. Afternoon sun kissed his skin and a salty breeze played with his hair. He stretched his arms up towards the sky and a smile formed on his lips. He could faintly smell the scent of coconut tan lotion and could hear music carried to his ears by the breeze. As he stood there, watching the waves lap gently at the shoreline, a beachball rolled into his line of vision. "Oi mate, pass it here!", a thick accent called out to him. Morty stooped to grab the ball and then turned to face where the very nice voice was coming from. The owner of said very nice voice had jogged over to him. He was tall, tanned and toned, with shaggy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "Cheers mate," the nice voice guy took the ball from Morty's hands and laughed, "my name's Lee, you new around here?". Lee tucked the ball under one arm and thrust his free hand out towards Morty, who reached out to shake it awkwardly. "Y-yeah, I'm M-Morty". Lee smiled and began to jog off, "see you round then, yeah?". Morty waved awkwardly, "y-yeah!", and watched as Lee tossed the ball towards a gloomy looking guy. He left Morty to stand there, flustered and wanting. Once the sun had gone down, Morty decided now was probably a good time to head back to Rick's house as he, Morty assumed, would begin to worry about his absence. He hoped he'd manage to find his way, and started the journey home. Home, huh? It didn't feel much like home to Morty.

Morty was never very good with directions, or getting from A to B, but this was getting beyond tedious. He was sure that he was going in circles. Morty had, of course, forgotten the address. Could he get anything right? His laces were starting to come undone, just like he was. The little confidence he'd had was steadily declining and suddenly he felt more lost than ever since his parents divorced. He felt utterly defeated; it was dark, he was alone, no one knew where he was- _he_ didn't even know where he was! As the anxiety and fear consumed him, he crumpled. He'd probably end up dead and raped and on the news by tomorrow morning. They'd find him cut up into little pieces in a dumpster somewhere, and no one would even know who he was. He wallowed in self loathing and otherwise anxious thoughts until he heard a car slowly driving towards him. This was it, he was going to get kidnapped! Goodbye cruel worl- The car beeped its horn at him, pulling him out of his daze. 

A solitary sob echoed through the darkness as Morty saw one concerned looking Rick stepping out of his powder blue Cadillac. "Rick!", Morty jumped up (since when had he sat down?) and ran over to where Rick was standing. "Fucking- fuck's sake Morty! Wh-AUGH-at are you doing sitting around in- in the dark?!" Rick sighed exasperatedly and pulled Morty into a strong yet welcoming hug. He then roughly pushed Morty into the passenger side. "Making me f-fucking, w-OUGH-orry 'bout you," Rick continued to mumble annoyedly as he got into the car and drove them both home. 

Morty could still feel Rick on his bare skin. He shuddered at the thought. Was it so wrong to find him attractive? Yes. Of course. It was wrong, wrong and disgusting, he should be ashamed. Yet Morty had never been so certain of anything in his life...  
He wanted Rick.

* * *

 

Safely inside, Rick watched Morty traipse up the stairs, before making his way to the kitchen. His eyes lingered on Morty's ass for a bit longer than necessary. The kid had been on his mind constantly since Rick had been notified that Morty would be staying with him. Rick had also, over the years, wondered how his daughter was, and how her family was doing. It hadn't come as a shock though, when he was informed of the situation they'd ended up in. Jerry had always seemed a little off to him, but still... He rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a beer. Morty had played on his mind since he had first met him at the airport. There was just something about the kid. Rick had liked the looked of him, especially that first meeting, all wet and flustered as he threw himself into the car. It made Rick think bad things. The kid obviously didn't realise how attractive he was. As he rested against the bench top in the middle of the kitchen, he opened the beer and downed half the bottle quickly. It had been a busy day, and he just wanted to- his phone buzzed in his coat pocket. It was a text from a client, 'where are you? I need it tonight!'. Rick sighed loudly before putting the beer down on the bench and walking out of the house. Hopefully this wouldn't take long, he didn't want Morty all up in his business when he got back. The client was meeting him in an old carpark, unused now besides these sorts of dealings. Once Rick arrived, they exchanged pleasantries and his client, Krombopulos Michaels, asked him about the kid. Rick had, at an earlier meeting, discussed the situation with him. They had known each other, through Rick's business, for a long time. Rick knew he could trust Krombop', even though there was always a chance he might be hired to kill Rick. Krombop' nodded at Rick gratefully as he took the brief case from him, "I'm glad the kid's safe Rick, hope you're keeping well also". Rick just gave a curt nod and waved as his client walked off into the night. He turned the key in the ignition and hummed in satisfaction as the radio buzzed to life, soft lilting music flowing from the speakers as he sped off, all too keen on getting home and staying there. 

"And that, folks, was Art Deco by Lana Del-" Rick turned off the engine and quickly snuck inside. The house was quiet. Hopefully Morty had fallen asleep. He just shrugged before walking up the stairs, too done with the day to even finish his beer. As he turned to go into the main bathroom, he was suddenly aware of soft noise coming from the room next to him. Morty..? Rick was intrigued. He walked over and pressed his ear to the door, not wanting to simply assume things. It was too quiet to make out, but he was pretty sure he was masturbating. He should go and give the kid some privacy. However, as he turned to leave, he thought he caught a word- a name rather. His name! He brushed it off, must have imagined it- but there it was again, clear and damn, why did that sound so fucking good?! 'Fuck I want him..' Rick groaned as his dick pushed against his pants. He quietly laughed to himself, not sure how he felt knowing that the attraction he felt to the kid wasn't one-sided. Smirking, he walked off to the main bathroom, and went into the shower. Maybe he could have some fun with this...

* * *

 

Morty bit his lip hard and whined Rick's name softly as he pushed himself over the edge and came in his hand. It hadn't been nearly as satisfying as it would have been, had it been Rick's hand in the place of his own. He'd been so unconsciously desperate for Rick's touch, and when he finally got it, it had undone his resolve, and he had caved to his primal instinct. Morty was embarrassed to admit this attraction to himself, but it was better to be sure of it, so he could hide it better. If he slipped up and did something, he couldn't bare to even think about it. The shame and guilt he felt would only double because, of course, Rick would judge. He'd be disgusted in Morty. For Morty, he wasn't ashamed about the age difference, or the fact that they were both male; it was the fact that Rick was his grandfather, and the only family he had left that wasn't (he hoped) bat shit crazy. As Morty continued to stress over and justify his attraction to Rick, his thoughts trailed off to Rick and where he'd gone off to. Of course, he had noticed when Rick had gone out, but he hadn't heard him come home yet. Just as he realised this, he heard a door open, and moments later the shower of the main bathroom started up. When had Rick gotten home? Morty wondered if he'd heard, and if so, how much? He imagined Rick, standing outside the door, listening to him, stroking himself through his pants, puffed out and- Morty's dick started to stir again. He groaned in embarrassment and got out of the bed. He really needed a tissue or something…

Morty had opted to have a shower, it was just easier. The water was cool on his hot skin and he beamed as his body temperature dropped to a more palatable one. The house had gotten hot during the day, and had trapped all that heat inside, making the air inside just as uncomfortable as the air outside. As he washed the sweat and semen off of his skin, all his conflicting thoughts and emotions washed away as well. If he was attracted to Rick, then that was that and there was nothing he could really do. He'd just have to hide it and make sure he never acted on it. He'd just have to jerk off to Jessica or something. Laughter spilled from him as he thought about her. A week before he moved here, he'd told Jessica about how he'd used to love her so much, and she'd told him that she'd always had a thing for him. They ended up exchanging numbers, but decided that they were better off being friends. She was still in a relationship and he'd moved on for the most part.

Remembering Jessica stirred up memories that Morty wasn't sure he wanted right now. The move to Miami had been a spur of the moment kind of decision. Obviously Morty hadn't just decided to move and do it all in one day, but it was done in a rush, and he hadn't gotten much of a say in it. If he'd been able to choose what happened, he'd have asked Summer if he could move in with her. When he'd been talking with child services, they'd 'recommended' that living on his own, before he was eighteen, was not the best choice and that living with Rick would be beneficial for a few years. It was sort of like an interim, until he finished school and got a place of his own. Honestly, he wished he could just stay at home, but they'd had to sell the house to cover the funeral expenses. 

Fuck it, he didn't want his last waking thoughts tonight being about Jerry. He'd tried to detach, but it was so fucking hard. Especially now during this transition, when what he needed most was the love and support of a family he didn't even have anymore. Although, had he ever really had love or support from either of them? Morty didn't know who he hated more, Beth or Jerry. They had certainly hated themselves and each other enough to cover any hateful feelings their children could direct at them. He could feel all the suppressed emotions forcing their way to the surface, and he rested his head and forearms against the wall of the shower. As tears started to fall, he released a sob that would have wrenched at even the hardest of hearts. The water poured over his back as he shook and sobbed into the cold wall. All the events of the past couple of years hadn't really registered in his head until now. When his parents had sat Summer and him down, the news had flown straight over his head. He'd always assumed it would happen at some point, but he didn't realise what it had meant for him. Summer was about to move out and he was struggling in school now that there was no older sister watching his back. Once she had left, his whole life became a total shit show. The divorce was the easy part. Beth and Jerry both wanted it, so they, along with their lawyers, managed to sort things out. Jerry had had to stay living with them for a while before he found a place of his own, so that had been an awkward three months. They had both seemed, Morty thought, pretty stable, but then again Morty wasn't the best judge of others. 

After Jerry had moved out, to live with his parents, Morty had watched helplessly as Beth just deteriorated in front of his eyes. He watched his mother drink herself to the brink of death, and he hadn't known how to help. As the bottles piled up, so did the bills. She had quit her job- well, they'd had to fire her after she tried to operate under the influence- so they had no income to pay for anything. The little money she did have was spent away on alcohol. Summer left, because it was too hard for her to watch as her family destroyed themselves. Morty stayed. Where else could he go? Soon, he stopped going to school. He spent his days working to support Beth and himself, but one day she didn't come home. Often, she would take Morty's pay and go out to drink. Sometimes she'd come home late- as in, three or four days late, so Morty didn't stress too much at first, but as a week crept by, and there was still no sign of Beth, he knew he had to act. So Morty went out looking for her. He knew all her favourite places, and eventually he found a note left for him in one of the bars. It explained how Beth had had to leave because she couldn't bare to be around Morty as he reminded her of her failure of a life and Jerry. It hurt. She had called him and Summer and everything she'd ever done in her life a failure. He didn't care too much about Jerry, because he agreed with her that yes, he was a failure of a human. 

Morty had tried to file a missing persons report but the police said there was nothing that they could do because she was a grown woman making a clear decision. They said if she hadn't left that note then maybe they could have done something. They told Morty the best thing he could do was move in with relatives and wait for her to come back, because they assumed that she would. So he did. He packed up his things and moved in with Jerry and his parents and their lover. This was fine for a few weeks, but Beth didn't come back. Morty hadn't really wanted her to, but he was worried and felt guilty because of this. Jerry was miserable, so Morty didn't tell him about Beth leaving. But one day, they got into a fight, and it slipped out. Morty couldn't remember what the fight had been about, but it had gotten heated, he'd thrown something, and Jerry had threatened to leave.

"Well go on then! Fucking do it y-you piece of sh-shit! Mum already- already left me, so go on and leave!" Morty shouted at the wall and fell to his knees as he came to a thought. What if he was the reason Jerry had done it? What would he have done if he hadn't yelled that? Hadn't told him to do it? Morty knew though, knew that if he hadn't said anything about Beth leaving, that Jerry would have just sulked and been kind of okay. It _was_ his fault. But his parents had always been selfish, not selfish enough to go have their own lives, but selfish enough to make it Summer and Morty's problem that they couldn't. So when Morty found Jerry, crumpled on the floor of his room, he knew it was for totally selfish reasons. He could read it, all over that dead expression. Jerry was pleased with himself, he was saying, 'I didn't really want to do this, but I know how much it'll hurt you and I always have to get the last laugh because I have a superiority complex over your mother and I need to win to prove that I'm not so totally pathetic'. All of this was Morty's fault. And the worst part was, he didn't know what he'd done, or if there was anything he could've done to fix it.

* * *

 

Rick only needed a quick shower, and stepped out shortly after he'd gotten in. He could hear Morty's shower running and he just dismissed it before drying himself off and wrapping the towel around his waist. "Time f-OUGH-or bed," he yawned and stepped out of the bathroom, into the hall- A sudden shout stopped him in his tracks and pulled him out of his sleepy daze. Morty?! Rick walked over to his room and opened the door. The shower muffled over his sobs, but Rick could hear them, tugging at a heart he hadn't been aware of having. Rick didn't even question what was wrong with the boy, because he knew. How his daughter could put her own child through such trauma.. well, Rick couldn't really comment on that. He was no saint, and wanting to fuck his emotionally unstable grandson was just the tip of the ice berg. He'd done so many things in his life that most wouldn't even dream of. He'd hurt people- good people, innocent people- to get where he was now. He'd killed, he'd stole, he'd cheated, he'd lied, but the one thing he would never do was stay in a crumbling relationship. A crumbling relationship like what his daughter put herself through, because she was too selfish to think about how it might affect those around her. For Rick, it didn't matter whether it was a business partnership, a friendship, an alliance- it didn't matter, if it went up shit creek, he was jumping ship.   
He didn't regret a lot of the things he'd done in his life, but he regretted not instilling this way of being in Beth. Maybe if he had, she would have had a better life. Rick shook his head and sat down on Morty's bed. There was no good wishing for something that would never happen. Time travel just wasn't a reality for Rick, and if he did somehow go back in time, who's to say he'd survive? Rick's thoughts trailed off as the door to the en-suit opened and a soggy Morty stepped out of it. Tears still trailed down the teens face and his curly hair dripped down it. His skin was still wet and the towel he was holding slipped a little as he saw Rick. 

Rick couldn't take seeing Morty in this way, so he stood and walked over to Morty before pulling him into his arms. Morty gripped at Rick's shirt with small fists and Rick walked them back to the bed. They sat down, with Morty practically climbing into Rick's lap, and held each other for a very long time. "Poor kid, w-what am I gonna do with you?”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooweee well wasn't that something. I don't really know how that all works in one chapter but hopefully it wasn't too stop-start/choppy. Obviously Morty has some trauma that he needs to deal with in the next chapter, and Rick is going to try and help him through it. I also really want to do a shopping part, like Rick taking Morty shopping and spoiling him. I want to add more of the sugar daddy/Daddy Dom vibes to Rick in the next chapter. In this one it was more just him caring about Morty and getting pissed at Beth. I know I'm kind of giving Beth a lot of shit but I'll come good on that I swear. She's one of my favourite characters and I actually think she's a really good person in spite of everything. Anyways I'm rambling, enjoy your holidays and hopefully you'll stick around to this shit show unfold!

**Author's Note:**

> So for anyone confused, the summery of this work is the Prologue, which just gives a little bit of context as to what's going on.   
> Also, sorry for the short first chapter! It looked a lot longer when I hand wrote it :c Next chapter will be much longer! And we get to see Ricks POV as well.
> 
> (this wasn't edited, but will probably be at a later date)


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